Forget and Not Slow Down
by EyeForAnEar
Summary: She didn't even know about the prom until the day after. And by then, it was too late. Addressing the disappointing lack of Maddie in "Prom Night". YES, there is a pairing. YES, it is Zaddie. Because those two are too adorable to not put together. R&R, please. Oneshot.


Maddie sits on her bed, ignoring the laughs and shrieks outside her door. People are, howling with laughter, and she can hear footsteps pound past her dorm room. She glances up briefly, before turning her attention back towards her laptop.

The email.

It was never an option for Maddie to keep in contact with London while the latter rushed off to enjoy a semester at sea with Zack and Cody. The heiress had threatened to relocate Maddie to the Tipton in Norway permanently unless they kept up regular emails (Maddie doubts the girl would have actually done it, but she agreed nevertheless).

Every week or two, Maddie is sent a surprisingly long email from London, detailing whatever had captured her attention that week, along with some camera photos to boot. Secretly she loves reading the emails, relishes the information about her friends and how they're moving forward in a direction far from hers. London's emails, while rambling and silly, always leave Maddie with a smile on her face.

This one doesn't.

Crossing her legs, she rereads the first sentence of the email, positive that she must've misread it the first four times.

She hasn't.

Zack, Cody, and London just had prom yesterday.

Maddie doesn't know what to think. Why didn't London tell her about this earlier? Such an important event? Of _course_ she wants to have been able to talk with London about her dress, her hair, the decorations, who she'd be going with, if she was planning to be prom queen. But there was another reason she desperately wishes she could have been told earlier. A reason that's making her feel a hollow ache in her chest.

She scrolls past the rest of the email, not bothering to read the rest of it. She clicks on the download button to see the images London's attached. Maddie waits impatiently, running her fingers quickly through her hair while the images are slowly downloaded. The status bar closes, and a slideshow starts.

Maddie looks at London, dressed surprisingly simply, in a sparkling purple top and dark pants. She reads the brief blurb (it explains that she was playing security for the prom, since it was held against Moseby's orders), and smiles briefly. She skips past a few more photos, catching brief glimpses of Bailey, Cody, Bailey _and_ Cody, and other people, before she _finally _reaches the one she's been looking for.

Maddie feels her heart skip a beat.

Zack looks devastatingly handsome, in a black suit and his trademark grin. She presses her fingers to the screen, right on his heart. He looks so much older. Just a moment ago he was only a charismatic little kid, asking his "sweet thang" for a kiss. When did he get so tall? His face looks a bit sharper, more angular than it used to. He looks relaxed, his arm slung over the shoulders of a grinning guy with an afro. She takes a deep breath, then clicks on to the next picture.

And feels her heart break.

Zack has his arm wrapped around the waist of a girl. She's stunning, Maddie can't deny it, no matter how much she wants to. In the photo, Zack smiles, a kiss pressed to the girl's cheek. Above the picture is a little blurb, reading "Zack and Maya". Maya. _Maya_.

Numbly, Maddie closes the slideshow, shuts down her email, and turns off her laptop. Putting it on her desk, she returns to her bed, climbing underneath its heavy covers. She lays her head on her pillow.

She can feel the telltale burning behind her eyes that's usually followed by tears, but she doesn't care. She's too late, and that simple fact hurts more than she could've possibly expected it to.

Zack is with a beautiful girl, and Maddie was working at the counter of the Tipton while Zack went to prom with _Maya_. While Zack did everything _possible_ to ensure Maddie's prom would be a success, Maddie was completely unaware that she wasn't even attending Zack's prom.

Finally, she accepts the inevitable, and feels the hot tears running down her face.

Maddie didn't keep her promise with Zack, and that absolutely _kills _her.

"_Tell you what; I'll dance with you at your prom, if you dance with me at mine."_

* * *

_A/N: Yes, I am in fact a fan of the Suite Life series. Granted, I prefered the original to the sequel, but whatever. Indeed, I am one of the many fans bewildered by the fact that Maddie wasn't with Zack for his prom. And so, here is my angsty little fanfic to summarize what Maddie might've thought when she found out. The title of this is from a Relient K song, I seriously recommend it. Probably the acoustic version for this, though, it sounds a bit more raw and emotional. All righty, let me know what you think!_


End file.
